Public Service Announcement

Hello to all who read this blog. Big news--we're moving Between the Trees to a new, independent domain. This will allow us to do lots of nifty things in the future, so stay tuned.

The new address is www.wordsfromtheway.com/between-the-trees/, so update your bookmarks and links now!

Also, the site will take a little time to get together. All my posts have been moved, but Jake's might take a little while. In the meantime, God bless!

An Interesting Moment of Reflection

A girl I was friends with in high school recently sent around some questions she had about peoples' experiences with high school youth ministry. I rarely pay attention to such things, but something prompted me to read and respond to it. It was an interesting chance for me to reflect on my years growing up in the church, so I thought I'd post it here.

I don't mean these answers to be overly critical; I was blessed in many ways by the local body in which I grew up. However, I do realize that there were some major issues I was left with and have since only begun to work through.

Here's the questionnaire:

Were you involved in a youth group in jr high/high school?
Yes.

For how long?
All the way through.

Was it your own church's youth group, or another youth group?
My church's

Why did you choose to participate in the youth group that you were in?
Because it's what you did in jr. high/high school if you loved Jesus and went to church.

What did you think was the purpose for your youth group (think beyond what they said to what actually happened)?
It seems to me on reflection that the essential purpose of youth group was to socialize young people into a Christian culture. My later answers will probably explain that.

What did your youth group do well?
It had a good grasp of a need for both inward and outward growth. It challenged some of the world's presuppositions that kids were exposed to.

What did your youth group do poorly?
It seems to me, both in my own growth over the last few years and interacting with my peers coming out of you ministry, that there was a basic foundational flaw in youth ministry as I experienced it. I guess I could break down its issues into three categories:

1. It lacked a foundation solidly planted in the gospel. Like much of my experience in evangelical Christianity over the years, the gospel served as a sort of "entrance mechanism" into Christianity, after which it's purpose was essentially exhausted. What came then, under the guise of Christian growth, was essentially moralism--making kids feel bad about their sin and then encourage them to make God happy by changing. This stands in stark contrast to true Christian spirituality, which encourages a pursuit of holiness out of an understanding that God is already fully pleased with us.

2. When challenging young people toward holiness and dealing with sin, it tended to take a very surface-level approach. The vast majority of time was spent on external exhortations: don't have sex, don't drink, don't masturbate, evangelize your friends, etc. However, the root sins underlying these issues were never addressed. The fear, pride, and depravity of my heart were not dealt with well; only their symptoms. Because of this, it seems to me that the pattern produced in myself and most of my peers was to trade one sin for another: I was trained to be a moralistic, self-reliant man who primarily pursued holiness out of fear of disapproval from his brothers and sisters.

3. It was essentially pragmatic, rather than spirit-reliant. The question asked was "what works" when it came to things like growth, prayer, and outreach. Because of this, both in evangelism and discipleship I feel that a huge number of unbiblical, manipulative tools were used to try to force faith and growth upon hearts which had neither.
What would be your suggestions for improvement?Jesus Christ is the absolute center of everything we talk about. Make your sole concern with giving people a compelling view of his beauty and supremacy, his sovereign grace and absolute holiness. There will be more benefit for a young person if they get a single glimpse of the glory of God than they can find in all the emotionally-coerced, flesh-dependent methodologies men can come up with.

After graduation, have you still been involved in church and to what extent?
Yes, I am a member of Grace Chapel in Lincoln.

What do you think [has] helped you to stay involved in church?
The unfailing faithfulness of my gracious Father.

Did your youth group involve you with the rest of the church/adults? (forming adult relationships/mentorships)
Not really, although I was blessed outside of youth group with independent relationships with several godly adults in my church growing up.

Any other input that would be helpful:
Read "The Discipline of Grace" by Jerry Bridges, "A Long Obedience in the Same Direction" by Eugene Peterson, and "Grow in Grace" by Sinclair Fergusen. If you're feeling really ambitious, I would also commend to you "The Mortification of Sin" by John Owen, "Grace Abounding" by John Bunyan, and "The Doctrine of Repentance" by Thomas Watson.

The Peace War

On a less personal note, here's something I've been pondering. Through a plethora of means, I have had resurrected for me a topic of discussion which I've pondered off and on for years, that of Christian non-violence and "pacifism."

It seems to me that the problem with this discussion is how completely unwilling people are to have a view more nuanced than "violence is evil" or "violence is fine." Most evangelicals are unable to dialogue about the issue because with a knee-jerk predictability they plead extreme situations. By saying "well, if someone was raping my wife and daughter I could defend them with violence," they then presume that war, self-defense, and lethal force are all perfectly permissible in almost every situation. Meanwhile, advocated of peace tend to make the entire issue political, about war and law enforcement, and often are prone to cause divisions in Christ's body which are antithetical to their position.

Here are a few of my thoughts on the topic, some aimed at each side, as I process through it all:

1. Peace is good. This seems to me to be obvious, but I'm shocked at how often it gets missed. In an argument about what is permissible, many Christians totally miss the question of what is beneficial. We should all, regardless of our moral convictions, desire peace between people. We should never delight in war or division or violence.

2. We are to me makers of peace. Stemming out of the first topic, we are to seek to make peace in the world. "Blessed are the peacemakers." (Matthew 5) " Turn away from evil and do good;seek peace and pursue it." (Psalm 34) This is part of the calling all Christians share to be a redemptive influence in creation. I've heard it put this way: as children of the kingdom of heaven, we are to seek to manifest that kingdom which will one day come in fullness in the world now, as best as we are able. Thus, we feed the starving and care for the sick because one day there will be no more hunger and disease. In the same way, when all things are made new all wars and divisions will cease. Thus we ought to, in obedience to Scripture, seek peace in the world.

The key question this raises is: how do we fight for this peace? As I wrestle with this, I am more and more inclined to think that the answer many conservative Americans give - through superior firepower - is not biblical. Hear me out; I'll address what I would consider a possible biblical place for violence in a moment. However, the reason we use violence is not to promote peace. "For all who take the sword will perish by the sword." (Matthew 26) This is going to sound radical, but the truth of Scripture is that God gives peace as we obey Him, not as we fight for it ourselves. Think about Israel. They are promised peace not because they take up arms and fight, but because they are obedient to the Lord (Leviticus 26 is one example). "When a man's ways please the Lord, he makes even his enemies to be at peace with him" (Proverbs 16). This means that, for the Christian, we are promised peace when we "do not resist the one who is evil" (Matthew 5); when we "love our enemies and do good to those who hate us" (Luke 6). Let this sink in: violence begets violence. Peace is given as a result of the commands of God. God calls us to surrender our rights and repay evildoers with good. This means that the way to be peacemakers is not with tanks, but with self-sacrificial love.

3. There is a biblical basis for violence. A good example of this is in Genesis 14: Lot is taken prisoner, Abraham raises a raiding party and attacks his captors, Lot is rescued, Melchizedek blesses Abraham. This and numerous other examples seem to show that there is a place for violence at times for the people of God. However, this violence is not to secure peace. That, as already discussed, is given by God as a result of obedience to Him. Instead, its purpose in Scripture seems primarily to be in defending others. This means that, while perhaps not a biblical mandate, we do have to allow room for Christians to have convictions for the use of violence in similar situations. However, this is the only time it is permissible, and even then we ought to seek to use other means if possible. However, this is important, because many Christians caught up in the non-violence movement are too quick to say clearly what isn't clear from Scripture. The people of God should love and pursue peace. The people of God seemed at times to be permitted to use violence. Let us leave it at that and, withing the parameters Scripture does give, allow some room for conscience and personal conviction.

4. The primary way Scripture addresses peace is in the body of Christ. Christians should definately desire peace politically in the world. However, it would be a huge error of interpretation to read many New Testament texts as primarily pointing towards this. Instead, their first concern is that we have peace with our brothers and sisters in the church (Romans 14, 2 Corinthians 13, Ephesians 2, Hebrews 12, etc.). This should be a high calling to all, but particularly to those in the Christian Pacifism camp who tend to look down on and ridicule other believers with different, perhaps even wrong, convictions. We must not speak about loving peace in the world until we have gone to the brothers we have offended and been reconciled with them.

This also means that we must seek to be united with our brothers around the world. Our first allegiance should not be between America and Arab, but between those who love Christ in both nations and those that don't. We must strive for peace with all, but particularly within the body. "So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God" (Eph 2:19). We should never view our nations' enemies as our own, lest we end up in doing so hating those who share with us as members of Christ's bride.


Obviously, I'm still processing a lot. Any thoughts would be welcome. However, I would exhort us of one thing: to live by what Scripture clearly teaches. To truly seek to love peace, whatever precisely that looks like. "Too long have I had my dwelling among those who hate peace. I am for peace, but when I speak, they are for war!" (Psalm 120)

Thank you Dr. Witherington

I don't know much about Ben Witherington, from what I've heard he sounds like an American Tom Wright who evangelicals find a little more acceptable since he's not as into the New Perspective on Paul as Wright is.

In any event, I am now a fan. I didn't know much about him but I've read two posts of his on Rob Bell and absolutely loved both of them. (Post 1 and Post 2)

Witherington is an example to all Christians of how to graciously offer criticism. And honestly, this is the first criticism of Bell I've come across that is gracious, edifying, and critical all at once. If you're interested in Rob Bell or the emergent church, read Witherington's posts to get a good, balanced perspective on Bell, and to some extent, the larger ECM. But even if you aren't, read Witherington's post as an example of how to lovingly offer criticism, which is an area in which we can all probably improve a great deal.

Piper on marriage

John Piper is doing a series on marriage at Bethlehem right now that is outstanding, if you haven't already, head on over to Desiring God and look through his recent sermons, whether your married, dating, or single, I think you'll find the advice helpful. It's solid advice for all our relationships, but especially marriage.

Squeezing My Camel Through the Needle's Eye

"Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD ?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God."
-Proverbs 30:8b-9

As I have been processing through a number of things and looking toward the future, I have been thinking a lot about money and possessions and how Christianity should shape our approach to these things. Increasingly, I am being convicted that I am deeply sinful about such matters, and am quite frankly largely unwilling to actually let Scripture speak to the suppositions my culture have left me with.

In meditating on this passage, I have been thinking a great deal on the truth of scripture that it is not good to be rich. That in asking for our "daily bread", we ought not only to mean no less, but also no more. The true testament is that riches, while they may be blessings from God, are also a snare of the devil. I more and more realize that my easy life sounds much like this:

"And as for [the seeds which] fell among the thorns, they are those who hear, but as they go on their way they are choked by the cares and riches and pleasures of life, and their fruit does not mature."

Think with me on all the things we trust in and take for granted, the things we expect as our due, which are in truth signs of exorbitant wealth. In the West, we believe that it's okay to buy new things just because they're new. We see nothing wrong with buying things like clothes not because our old ones have worn out, but because the new ones are fashionable-or even just fun to buy. It seems perfectly normal for us to go on vacations all over the world, at least once a year, and live there in luxury. The same with the assumption that its natural to remodel our homes or apartments because we're tired of the way they are. Nobody blinks at the thought that its fine to purchase high-definition television, or video game platforms, or $200 cell phones. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. The truth is that because we are surrounded by excess and gross affluence, we are unable to see it for what it is. I know this in my own life. Its easy for me to say "I'm not rich-look at that guy over there." But the truth is that we are all incredibly wasteful of what God has given us, and that this makes it extremely hard for us to follow Him.

Just bemoaning the problem is easy for me. But the challenge is actually living it. I'm not proposing that we live in huts in jungles. But what I am seeking to make my aim is something almost as revolutionary. Imagine if we Christians all lived in houses no larger than we needed, drove cars until they broke, and only bought clothes when our old ones were unwearable. If we stopped paying exorbitant amounts of money for cable television, golf course memberships and mp3 players. If we didn't lavish money on landscaping and interior decorating. If the church lived this way-really did it, seeking to have no more than the cultural equivalent of their "daily bread"-the world would be indelibly marked by it. It would rock our society to its very core.

And now my prayer is that I would not only think on this, but do it. That I would stop wasting money on my own entertainment and comfort, and instead use it in the service of the Lord. That these words would haunt me:

"But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs."

The problem with worldview thinking...

One of the buzzwords in Christian culture today is "world-view," in fact, I'm seeing that word in lots of places, and I can see why. It's a very nice simple way of describing a person's life philosophy. It's also free of the philosophic and religious jargon that our generation finds so unappealing due to it's sometimes-obscure jargon and the connotations related to authority that is so repulsive to our generation. The church has jumped on the world-view bandwagon too. Books like Nancy Pearcey's Total Truth, D.A. Carson's The Gagging of God, and earlier works like The Universe Next Door by James Sire, the books of Francis Schaeffer, Os Guiness, and Chuck Colson (all of which are excellent) have all discussed the importance of a Christian world-view whose message impacts all of life.

I think it's a good thing for Christians to be thinking about, it's good for us to see our beliefs as having a larger impact than exclusively personal or political issues. It's also helpful to have an understanding of other world-views and the ideas behind them when you're dialogging with non-Christians.

But I'm starting to think that world-view thinking has the potential to be very dangerous. As more and more churches are offering classes discussing world-views- Christianity, naturalism, existentialism, nihilism, deism, etc.- I fear we're doing a poor job of equipping Christians to enter the market place and express their ideas to individuals.

While it is good for Christians to understand what existentialism, nihilism, naturalism, post-modernism, modernism, and deconstructionism are, it is equally important to understand that you will not find many people who label themselves as such. And if you impose such a label on them based on one or two comments they make then you're likely to begin thinking, "OK, how'd my class teach me to talk to nihilists?" rather than, "What are the needs of this individual in this moment?" I grew up in a church that labeled everyone outside as "unbeliever/sinner" and drew up a memorized program to use in addressing them. I'm glad we're moving away from that unbiblical, unloving, and anti-the-way-of-Jesus idea. But is it really that much of an improvement if we simply shift to having several different labels to use for those outside the church and then memorize speeches for each of those labels? It's still mechanical and impersonal. Granted, it's better than the "they're a sinner, bash 'em with the bible," approach, but it still isn't the biblical approach that sees each individual as an image-bearer with their own specific questions that need to be addressed and prejudices to the gospel that need be eliminated.

Don't get me wrong, I'm glad that Christians are trying to see their faith as all-encompassing, and I'm grateful for the greater interest in the philosophies of others so that we may more effectively address them, but I fear that, with the church's tendency to label and over-simplify, that we're simply trading one error for a slightly less dehumanizing (though equally unbiblical) error.

Thoughts?

A Glorious Tension

I'm writing this from the hotel room I'm sharing with several friends, including my fellow blogger Jake, in Rochester, MN for the L'Abri Conference. There've been a full day of workshops and lectures, and I'm largely shot. However, I did have a thought from today which I thought I'd post, and I'm sure there will be more fruit from the ideas here later.

I've been struck a lot recently by the tensions of the Christian life. I live in a world in which I am neither fallen nor fully restored. I am a saint and a sinner, a lover of Christ and a lover of the world. This struggle seeps into my thinking as well. I often feel caught somewhere between Liberalism and Fundamentalism, Republican and Democrat, Hyper-Calvinism and Semi-Pelagianism. The thing that I'm convinced of, however, is that this tension is good. We are to walk a narrow line between opposite errors, repenting and seeking the Lord as we err on one side and then the other. However, we ought to seek to live in the balance.

I remember Francis Schaeffer, someone who has already gotten discussed a lot this weekend, once talking about the errors of the church as being like a drunk peasant who tries to climb onto a horse, but just ends up falling off the other side. This is precisely what happens when we lose a life in tension. Like some spiritual pendelum, we swing back and forth from one wrong idea into another, never walking the narrow road between. One key example of this, I think, is how many in the church are dealing with "post-modernism".

There are obvious dangers in heedlessly embracing post-modern thought. It degrades authority, the truth of scripture and our ability to speak into other peoples' lives. However, in a workshop I attended today discussing some of these issues, I felt like they were reacting by falling off the other side. The speaker, as a "solution" to post-modernism, ended up arguing for modernist rationalism. He honestly thought that the solution was to embrace an epistemology in which mankind, completely unaided and without major bias, could arrive at truth about God.

My concern is that this is equally as dangerous to the church. To correct one wrong, worldly system with another is only to make matters worse. Instead, what we need is to recognize that Christianity belongs somewhere between, or above, the two. There are good, biblical things said by both sides, and there are wrong and foolish things as well. We ought to seek the good, pure and perfect in the systems while critically challenging both of them by the gospel. This is hard, and I'm sure we will end up wrong in some areas, but we must strive for the tension. Otherwise, we are certainly lost.

Spiritual Depression

This is a blog that has been several-weeks in the making, although now may or may not be the best time to write it since I'm feeling wonderful now as I'll be leaving later today for the annual L'Abri conference in Rochester, MN. (For those of you unfamiliar with L'Abri, I'll write about it sometime, but that's a whole separate series of posts that will have to wait)

Until these last few days I've found myself struggling tremendously with a constant feeling of discontent which resulted in unhappiness. This is something others far wiser than I have already written volume upon volume about so first I'll commend you to the work of John Piper and C.S. Lewis on this subject. It should also be noted that much of what I say will simply be a fusing of what these two men have written on the subject. It should also be noted that I will not here attempt to discuss God's sovereignty and the problem of pain, that is also another subject for another blog. This blog intends only to discuss what one may do practically to address one's own spiritual depression.

First, I'll share a bit about myself to hopefully frame what I'm going to say. I tend to be an extremely emotionally-led person. Even when I have rational reasoning to do something, what I really end up doing is largely determined by my emotions. This is part of the reason why, for example, I struggle greatly with forgiving those who I feel wronged by, it's not so much that rationally I don't see the need for it as it is I simply can't deal with the personal sting I felt from the person. This also makes me highly susceptible to bouts with spiritual depression. If you haven't listened to John Piper's message about the life of William Cowper I highly recommend doing so. Even if you do not have such a temperament, it may help you understand those of us who do slightly better. And if you do have such a temperament it will be a refreshing reminder that others share your struggles.

That being said, there are several things I suggest doing to help in dealing with spiritual depression:
1) Please, adopt a realistic attitude toward your present state in life as well as your state of mind. In reminding yourself of where you are in life, you'll be reminded that you have many tremendous blessings that many people don't have. In the words of Rob Bell, "8% of the world's population owns a car. When you're driving your car-no matter what kind of car it is- most of the world's population looks at you and says, 'Rich.'" I don't say this thinking it dispels the clouds, but to draw attention toward the manifold ways God has blessed you as well as the great needs others have so that it may motivate you to serve the oppressed and under-privileged, I'll explain why that is especially important during times of depression later in this post.

But also adopt a realistic attitude about your state-of-mind. Often, when I'm struggling with depression I have this nagging thought in the back of my mind, "If only _____, then I would be happy" and it's the most destructive thought one can have. There generally is not a magic bullet for a melancholic personality. Ultimately, I believe depression stems from a deep discontent with the way things are, something within us says, "This isn't how it should be." We can work to make things better, and we ought to, but ultimately our hearts longing is for unity with God and that will never be fully satiated in this life. In the second place, if you develop the attitude that there is, then when you acquire said bullet and still struggle with depression, you will be disappointed and perhaps plunged into deeper depression. I think religious people often use Jesus this way. We make it sound as if Jesus fixes everything-and in one sense he does. But he doesn't fix it all at once, immediately following conversion. Donald Miller has an excellent talk on this topic that you can find through Imago Dei's podcast or at their website (the title is Our Father in Heaven, given on June 26th, 2005). Finally, do not forget that, as Bart Moseman wisely put it, "Whatever you have, you have because God is good and whatever you don't have, you don't have because God is good."

Second, do not let depression drive you away from community. This is something I often struggle with. When you're feeling discouraged, the last thing you often want to do is spend lots of time with people. Now, there is some wisdom in giving yourself a little down-time to recharge, however, if you abandon all your friendships, your church, your community groups, etc. then you're setting yourself up for long times of discouragement.

The reason for that ties in with my third point, which comes almost entirely from Piper's talk on Cowper but since he thought of it while giving the talk it is not in the transcript at DG (which is why you should listen to it. Another reason to listen to it is Piper had a much deeper voice in 1992 when that talk was given and at first it's slightly odd listening to him if you're used to the way he sounds now). Human beings have always been self-absorbed but there seems to be a special sickness our generation struggles with in this regard. Everything is about how it relates to us, and often our depression simply stems from the fact that our eyes are only on ourselves. A time of melancholy is a great time to remind yourself of the glorious gospel of Grace, that salvation is of God's sovereign grace, and that he is fathering you to maturity (that was a synthesis of things said by Piper, Tim Keller, and Don Miller). It is also a good time to surround yourself with others so that you can spend periods of time completely lost in their lives, their being, and in doing so, temporarily forget about your own despair. Then, once their gone, you're left with something besides your own discontentment to think about. This is why it is so vital that you be helping the under-privileged during times of depression, it fights your depression on two fronts by reminding you of how you are blessed and giving you time to lose yourself in the life of another person. It is also why you must not abandon your friendships and community groups during those times, because if you do, it's only more time for you to think about how depressed you are. (And sometimes I think all my depression really is is me thinking about how depressed I am)

If anyone wishes to add their thoughts, by all means, please do. This is by no means thorough and, as was said above, I would commend everyone to John Piper's voluminous works on this topic (When I Don't Desire God, The Hidden Smile of God, and When the Darkness Does Not Lift).

To whom do we pray?

Some interesting discussion going on over at Scot McKnight's, Jesus Creed, about the issues Eric blogged about earlier this week. For those unfamiliar with McKnight, he's a professor of Religious Studies at North Park University in Chicago. He's a bit of an enigma because he tends to be fairly conservative theologically (as far as I know), attends Willow Creek Church, and is often associated with the emerging church movement. In fact, this past December, Andrew Jones of tallskinnykiwi fame named him the best emerging blogger of 2006. His speech (pdf) earlier this year at Westminster Seminary about the emerging church is also one of the best critiques I've come across, definitely worth looking at it if you're unfamiliar with the ECM. But anyway, all that to say, McKnight has some interesting discussion about to whom we must pray and if you enjoyed Eric's thoughts on it, it'd be worth looking at the discussion over at Jesus Creed.

As to the Last Post...

So I just deleted my last post; if you didn't read it, it was about the exorbitant amounts of money a number of Christian leaders make and a call to live humbly and not bring disgrace to the name of Christ.

Upon reflection, I felt it was unconstructive and, quite frankly, sinful. It was accurate, the figures were true, and I do think that there is a great deal of foolishness in the way a lot of Christians leaders handle finances and how much they pay themselves. However, I still feel that it wasn't wise to post.

I'm reminded of one of Edwards' resolutions:

"Resolved, never to speak evil of anyone, so that it shall tend to his dishonor, more or less, upon no account except for some real good."

Its all too easy for me to use people as "examples" when addressing issues as a clever guise for gossip and slander. This is, quite frankly, what the "Christian blogosphere" typically thrives on, and while I think it's a terrible trend and seek never to speak in a slanderous way, I often fail. I feel like my last post was a prime example of this.

The key to the issue is the "real good" which Edwards mentions here; or as Paul says in Ephesians, "Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear." It is easy for us to use the guise of "defending the faith" to cover what is really defamation of brothers and sisters in Christ.

Scripture gives us the way to handle sin: a brother sins against us, we go to him, and if he is unrepentant we deal with it in the context of the body of believers. "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness." There are two key things which stand out to me in these scriptural principles of dealing with sin which are often absent in my and others' attitudes. The first is that these matters are to be dealt with within the body. 1 Corinthians 6 clearly teaches that to air our grievances in the public sphere, rather than in the church, is sin. Indeed, Paul goes so far as to say that we should "rather be defrauded" than to cast disputes within the body before unbelievers for judgment.

The second principle is that the place for correcting sin is in the context of relationship with that person. I don't know Billy Graham or R.C. Sproul, or for that matter Peter Popoff. Thus, in it is not my place at all to expose areas in which I believe they are sinning. There is no good word in scripture for such relationless "correction": it would most likely fall somewhere between divisiveness and gossip. The honest fact is that most bloggers, including at times myself, use our anonymity and percieved position of "responsibility to the truth" to be little more than "idle busybodies".

I don't question that there are ignorant, well-meaning believers out there giving money to charities which will put it to poor use. However, it is a better thing for us to be taken advantage of and have our rights violated than to cause the name of Christ to suffer reproach. I'm not saying that there's no place for making public such issues, but I am saying that it should be done only after long, hard prayer, honest efforts to correct the brothers involved in love, and with a spirit which is grieved and truly humble rather than one which is angry and vindictive. Let us be lovers of peace, not of senseless controversies. Let us keep no record of wrongs. Let us trust the Lord to bring justice, and seek first and above all to honor Christ by loving His body.

I apologize for the tone of my last post. Part of it was honest grief at the state of the body, but I know part of it was an act of pride and sin. Thanks be to Jesus, who forgives all, and before whom all stand as equally unworthy of the rich grace he lavishes upon us. May we emulate his humility, take up our crosses, and die to our need to be right. Amen.

In Jesus Name...

Recently, I've been struck by how often Christ is taken for granted in my prayer life. Since my theology of prayer is that we pray to the Father, through the Son, at the prompting of the Holy Spirit, I tend to spend my time focused on the father who my intercessions are presented to and ignore the Son who intercedes for me.

So, for the last few months I've been trying to expand the endings of my times of prayer to exalt Christ. Rather than simply praying "in Jesus name...", I just began one day to seek to say what exactly it is Jesus does at the end of my prayers. What has shocked me is how fruitful and worshipful this has quickly become.

The truth is that, if Christ is the center of our faith, he has done everything. As we come before God, we come in the name of a Christ who:
-Was incarnate, fully God and man
-Lived a perfect life
-Died a substitutionary death
-Was raised from the dead to conquer death
-Reigns in heaven as the glorified king
-Will return to bring to perfection all that he began and glorify creation

And far more, but time fails. So then, I've found that when I have been in prayer over something, I can find its answer in Christ, and am reminded of this when I praise him for who he is. If I've been confessing sins, it is a great blessing to end my prayer with something like "in the name of Jesus, who has borne all of the guilt of my iniquities and suffered the wrath which was rightfully mine." If I am asking for provision, I can rejoice that my Brother and Friend now sits in heaven at the right hand of the father. When I have need of comfort or humility, I can reflect on the Incarnate Christ who was tempted in every way as I am, but triumphed. And in the face of suffering and pain, I can rejoice that He will one day make all things new.

This is hardly some magic formula. However, it has been a great help to me, and perhaps might be an encouragement to some of you. If nothing else, it constantly helps me as I leave a time of prayer and continue with my daily life to fix my eyes on Jesus Christ, the author and perfector of my faith.

A thought from John Piper

"What words might the Holy Spirit use to open someone to the truth that their inferiority to God is good news? Perhaps this: What if we asked someone, “Would you want to watch a football game where all the players were no better than you? Or watch a movie where the actors could act no better than you and were no better looking than you? Or go to a museum to see pictures by painters who could paint no better than you?” Why are we willing to be exposed in all these places as utterly inferior? How can we get so much joy out of watching people magnify their superiority over us? The biblical answer is that we were made by God to get our deepest joys not from being superior ourselves but from enjoying God’s superiority. All these other experiences are parables. God’s superiority is absolute in every way, which means our joy in it may be greater than we could ever imagine."
-From his talk at the 2006 Desiring God conference, "The supremacy of Christ and Joy in a post-modern world."

I have an original post in the works, but don't have the time for it right now, perhaps later this week. For now, I hope this Piper quote can grab and encourage you as much as it did me when I first heard it. If you have the time, listen to the entire 2006 DG conference, which can be found through the link provided or, if you want it as a podcast, at Mark Driscoll's Resurgence.

Jesus, I Am Resting, Resting

"Alas! that Christians should stand at the door of eternity having more work upon their hands than their time is sufficient for, and yet be filling their heads and hearts with trifles."
-John Flavel

This is a good word which I find deeply convicting. I've realized that its all too easy for me, in the midst of a busy schedule, to justify wasting what free time I do have. After working, going to class, and doing homework, I'm very good at popping in a movie, getting a drink and sitting in a mindless haze for a few hours. While I'm not persuaded that this is always bad, I do think that the way we approach relaxation, especially as it relates to the television, internet, and video games, is something with almost no historical precedent.

I've been reflecting on historical ideas of the Sabbath lately in evaluating my "rest". While one element of the Sunday rest to many historic Christians was not working and spending time with the community of believers, there was also a profoundly spiritually-focused element to it. Time would be spent in prayer and devotion, families would discuss the sermon in depth, and children would practice their catechism. The key thing here is that rest was not, to these people, about doing nothing. It was about intentionally stepping back from the labors of the world in order to be refreshed by the Truth of Christ.

I know that, if I viewed the world rightly, this would characterize my times of rest as well. It is certainly good to break from the pressures of life; from homework and paychecks and chores. However, it is a gross error to then assume that this time is most beneficially spent "tuning in and tuning out" to our media drug of choice. As Flavel points out, the labors of our hands are for eternity. It is utterly foolish, then, to set our minds on something less. Let me be refreshed by prayer, by contemplation, and by dwelling on the words of life! That I seek to be refreshed by something less is foolishness. In Christ is rest; let me not quickly go to something fleeting and poor when I might be built up and invigorated by the one whose yoke is easy and whose bureden is light.

Blogging with Humility

Recently I've heard or read a number of different men I love and respect use the phrase, "Preaching the gospel to yourself." The idea is that the gospel is not only for those not following Jesus but also for those who are. We are in need of genuine, daily repentance and God-given grace just as much as anyone else. I've seen Tim Keller, C.J. Mahaney, Jerry Bridges, Mike Hsiu, Bart Moseman, Derek Webb, Francis Schaeffer and Martin Luther all use this phrase, or at least something similar to it, and it's challenged me to think more about following Jesus daily in all aspects of my life. I've especially been thinking about how preaching the Gospel to myself every day will affect my writing. I'm currently in three writing classes, writing a weekly column for the Daily Nebraskan (which is what I should probably be working on right now) as well as trying to maintain and establish this blog, so much of time is spent writing. The essential question is how does one write with humility? So many writers are so full of themselves and so confident in their own abilities that you feel as if you can't help them in any way because they already have everything figured out and unless you share their opinions and hold a position they respect they aren't going to listen to any of what you say. This is, of course, not a biblical way to approach writing. If we are preaching the gospel to ourselves daily and reminding ourselves daily of our own unworthiness and inability to please God and of our God's goodness to us in giving us grace then we can't possibly write with pride or arrogance. So the following are a few thoughts I've had as I've been thinking about how one can write (or in this case, blog) with humility.

First, there is no formula for humble writing. I used to have this idea that if I simply softened my statements with enough "I think"s, "I personally believe that"s, and "in my opinion"s
then my writing would be humble. But recently as I've read several extremely humble, God-centered authors I've been struck by the fact that they frequently use very strong language in expressing their beliefs. Francis Schaeffer, his wife Edith, John Piper, and C.S. Lewis all come to mind, I'm sure you can think of several others. Put shortly, soft writing does not equal humble writing.

Sometimes I think soft writing actually comes from pride. This is my main issue with pastor and author Brian McLaren. I love and respect Brian, however I think he sometimes falls prey to the sin of false humility that Chesterton warned of in Orthodoxy. He said that it's possible for men to have a misplaced humility. He warned of being humble about Scripture and church teachings and becoming proud of one's own intelligence or ability. I fear this is what McLaren has done as he approaches scripture with an extremely deconstructionist epistemology. I think his criticisms of fundamentalist pastors who read scripture with an excessively-modern epistemology is dead-on, however I fear he may be so repulsed by the excessive absoluteness of fundamentalists that he has simply gone to the opposite extreme. His writings are full of phrases that soften his opinions to make them more palatable and yet I'm not sure it's genuine humility that drives that but rather a misplaced humility.


Second, humble writing emerges (and I chose that word for a reason) from authentic communities made up of individuals who respect and care for each other and that submit to one another and, above all, to Jesus. I'm not saying that means everyone in the community is called to write just as not everyone is called to preach. Some are called to write but there are many others who would be of greater service in another ministry. However, just because they aren't writers doesn't mean they have no authority over the writer. Writers should find friends within their community whose character they respect and admire who will help them as they write.

Recently Mark Driscoll showed what this looks like as he responded to a controversy over some comments he had made about the Ted Haggard scandal. Long story short, he made comments that many perceived as being demeaning to Gayle Haggard and other pastor's wives and Driscoll responded by graciously apologizing and making the wise decision to have a deaconness at Mars Hill read all his blog posts before they are published.

There is great wisdom in submitting yourself to the authority of those in your community because they will help you to clarify and correct certain aspects of your thought as well as offering encouragement when itis needed. An isolated writer will have great struggles to be humble. A writer surrounded by community will constantly be reminded of their need for assistance and, due to this, will be less likely to write in a proud or arrogant way.

Thirdly, humble writing comes from prayer-saturated individuals. If you're regularly surrendering yourself to God in prayer by acknowledging your faults and need for Him then you will be constantly reminded of your need for God and it will be very difficult to develop an attitude of self-sufficiency or over-confidence in your ability as a writer. Kierkegaard said that, "Prayer doesn't change God, it changes me." Consistent prayer creates humble writers. Irregular, sporadic, haphazard prayer-lives create independent individuals who refuse to submit themselves to God or others and who write will often write with a very condescending, arrogant tone.

Fourth, humble writing is God-centered, biblical writing. I place these two together because I see them as a balance. Humble writing is primarily about honoring God by accurately expounding upon a certain truth about him revealed to us in scripture. This means that our primary motivation to write is the glory of god and our primary goal is to accurately express some truth about the triune God of scripture. Our goal is not the approval of others or that they think us to be intellectual, funny, or clever. The driving motivation behind our writing is to accurately describe a certain truth about God in a way that magnifies his greatness.

That said, if we're going to write in a consistently biblical way we must understand what the Bible is: It's a collection of many different types of writing which God uses to communicate to people in a way that is relevant and makes sense to them. So if we're going to be biblical we will take things like culture into account when writing. Mark Driscoll explained it by saying we aren't to be seeker-sensitive because that often involves changing the message to appease the audience, which shows that our motivation is not the glory of God but the approval of others. However, we should be seeker-sensible in that we do adapt our language and method in order to communicate most effectively. If we refuse to do that it only shows our pride by showing that we think our method of choice is more important than "becoming all things to all men so that I, by all means, might save some."

World church update

From the Voice of the Martyrs on church persecution in India:

"Pastor Attacked for Christmas and New Year Services - VOM Sources
On January 7, 2007, Pastor Gabriel was attacked and beaten by Hindu extremists because he held Christmas and New Year services. The attackers were infuriated believers gathered to sing and pray to a "foreign God-Jesus." Pastor Gabriel sustained head injuries that have resulted in him losing his sight. Meanwhile, believers who were on their way to visit Pastor Gabriel in the hospital were involved in a car accident and incurred severe injuries. Pray God will heal Pastor Gabriel and those injured. Ask God to give believers in India boldness to continue serving Him in the midst of increasing persecution. Psalm 103:3, Psalm 138:3"

Please continue to keep Indian Christians in your prayer-life, as I said the other day, it often makes an obvious difference, as in the cases of Rhanja and Parvez Masih (no relation, many Indian and Pakistani Christians will change their last name to Masih, I can't remember the reason, I know it means something in their language but can't recall what, but they use it as a way to publically confess Christ). Besides that, even if there is no obvious fruit today we have no way of knowing how God might move in the hearts of suffering Christians to encourage them.

Activism, letters, and the persecuted church

If you haven't checked out the official site of Voice of the Martyrs, you definitely need to take some time to look through it. But if you have and are looking for more information or ideas on what you can do to encourage Christians suffering for the gospel around the globe, here are a few more resources:

BASIC- Brothers and Sisters in Chains, it's a ministry of VOM specifically geared to helping communities find new ways to do serve their brothers and sisters suffering in other parts of the world. If you go there, read Damare's story. It confirms for me the vital importance of a suffering church. Damare is a 15-year-old boy in the Sudan who, from the little bit I can gather from the story, seems to have more perspective and maturity than many middle-aged Christians in the USA.

Bibles Unbound- A ministry of VOM that delivers Bibles to the persecuted church. Many first-generation converts in China and other countries become Christians without ever having even seen a Bible and once they receive one they value it far more than many of us in the west, where almost all of us have multiple Bibles (I have 3 or 4 in my dorm room alone, plus a few more back home).

Prisoner Alert- This is the best way to get information about individual Christians. PrisonerAlert sends out e-mails updating you on the condition of various prisoners and also provides resources to write letters of encouragement to the prisoners and letters demanding their release to the governing officials of their country.

This is the coolest part of these sites, several years ago myself and several friends got together to write letters of encouragement to the Christians and letters of protest to the governments. To my shame, I didn't follow up after they were sent but earlier today when I was looking at the PrisonerAlert site I found a list of released prisoners and two of the men released were men that my friends and I had written to. I specifically remember writing out, by hand, a letter to the Prime Minister of Pakistan on behalf of Parvez Masih, who has since been released.

Lately I've found myself often struggling with feelings that what I'm doing right now doesn't really matter, that I'm just in a holding pattern until I can start whatever it is I'll spend the bulk of my life doing. So it was a wonderful encouragement to me to see that two of the men I'd advocated on behalf of and had tried to encourage were now free.

That said, there are several others, Li Ying and Gong Shengliang, who my friends and I wrote to two or three years ago, that are still imprisoned.

Who Are We Chasing?

"Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him? " (James 2:5)

"But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. " (1 Corinthians 1:27-29)

A few years back I remember being given the book "The Fuel and the Flame" by Steve Shadrach to read. To be frank, I wouldn't recommend it; while he seemed genuinely well-intentioned, the author couldn't have written a better guidebook for methodologically-driven, flesh-based campus ministry. However, one particular idea has stuck with me as particularly dangerous and symptomatic of how we view Christianity today. Shadrach discusses three groups of people on campus, the "influencer", the "interested" and the "isolated." He argues that we ought to focus out ministry on individuals which are influencers -- the cool people, the happening people, the people everyone wants to be like. The natural assumption is that by seeking to win over the most desirable college students, the tag-alongs and losers will follow suite.

It seems to me that Scripture presents the exact opposite idea. We aren't supposed to aim at the cool people; James reserves harsh words for those who show this sort of "partiality." Instead, Christians are called to minister and pursue the rejected, the downtrodden, and the shamed. Christ wouldn't have spent his time chasing "Saddleback Sam," as Rick Warren calls the influencers of his church (and incidentally is primary target demographic); instead, the aim of his ministry would be to show gentle love to "Homeless Hank" or "Prostitute Penny". A Christ-like ministry doesn't try to reach the world through the hip and influential; it seeks to reach it through the shamed and despised.

Does this seem like a foolish way to do ministry? Absolutely. But that's the point. As 1 Corinthians points out, God uses the foolish in the world "so that no one may boast before Him." If God used "influencers" to reach "Saddleback Sams," we would be able to stand before Him and say something like, "Gee Lord, good thing I came along, or there's no way You could have done this well." But instead the Lord uses weak vessels to display his power; jars of clay to show that the power and glory belong to Him and not to us.

This sounds great in theory, but giving it feet is hard. Part of me still really wants to be called to minister to the sexy, savvy people rather than the socially dysfunctional ones. This is where my pride shines forth: the real reason I want to minister to "influencers" is not to achieve the most glory for God; its to be glorified myself. I want Jesus to be cool with these people because I want to be cool with them.

However, when I look to those I know in my heart truly need to be ministered th, the spiritually sick and hurting, my pride cringes. Weekly I encounter these people: they're dorky, or dirty. They have few friends. They're mocked and ostrasized by their peers, and often this drives them even deeper into their particular problem. Truth be told, I usually don't want to love these people. Not up close, not personally. Sure, I'll love them from a distance, from inside a group or across a soup kitchen counter. But I don't want them to be my friends, my social group. Yet this is truly Christian love: serving and appreciating someone who can bring you no benefit, no advantage, no honor or service in return. This is precisely the sort of love God shows for us.

So may I, and may we as Christ's body seek to pursue and embrace these people. Let us build our churches out of them and revel in their company. Let us realize, too, that we are not so unlike these people; that if our sins and secrets were as clear to the eye as theirs, that we would be in no less lowly of estates. The Lord is faithful and sovereign, and will accomplish the fullness of His work through such vessels as these. Let us rejoice in Him as he uses frail vessels like us in His service.

Blog updates

For those of you who don't know, I am currently taking 16 hours of classes (9 of which are writing classes), working 15 hours a week in Arc Hall, and writing a weekly column for the DN. I love all of it but it does put one heck of a dent into one's amount of leisure time, so for that reason I probably won't be posting more than once or twice a week and those will probably consist of posts such as the last one moreso than me actually pontificating on some topic. So please continue to check back but don't expect frequent updates. If you'd like, you can read my columns at the website of the Daily Nebraskan. Any comments or critiques are welcome.

Come Together Right Now Over Me

"What an endless variety of denominations, taken from some men of character, or from some little peculiarities, has prevailed in the Christian world, and crumbled it to pieces, while the Christian name is hardly regarded?... What party-names have been adopted by the Protestant churches, whose religion is substantially the same common Christianity, and who agree in much more important articles than in those they differ. To be a Christian is not enough now-a-days, but a man must also be something more and better; that is, he must be a strenuous bigot to this or that particular church.

Ever man will find that he agrees more fully in lesser as well as more important articles with some particular church than others; and thereupon it is his duty to join in stated communion with that church; and he may, if he pleases, assume the name which that church wears, by way of distinction from others; this is not what I condemn. But for me to glory in the denomination of any particualr church, as my highest character; to lay more stress upon the name of a presbyterian or a churchman than on the sacres name of Christian; to make a punctilious agreement with my sentiments in the little peculiarities of a party the test of all religion; to make it the object of my zeal to gain proselytes to some other than the Christian name; to connive at the faults of those of my own party and to be blind to the good qualities of others, or invidiously to represent or diminish them: these are the things which deserve universal condemnation from God and man; these proceed from a spirit of bigotry and faction, directly opposite to the generous catholic spirit of Christianity, and subversive to it. This spirit hinders the progress of serious practical religion, by turning the attention of men from the great concerns of eternity, and the essentials of Christianity, to vain jangling and contest about circumstantials and trifles. Thus the Christian is swallowed up in the partisan, and fundamentals lost in extra-essentials...

Endeavor to find out the truth, even in these circumstantials, at least so far as is necessary for the direction of your own conduct. But do not make these the whole or the principal part of your religion: do not be excessively zealous about them, nor break the peace of the church by magisterially imposing them upon others... You may, if you please, call yourselves presbyterians or dissenters, and you shall bear without shame or resentment all the names of reproach and contempt which the world may brand you with. But as you should not be mortified on the one side, so neither should you glory on the other. A Christian! a Christian! Let that be your highest distinction, let that be the name which you labout or deserve. God forbid that my ministry should be the occasion of diverting your attention to anything else."
-Samuel Davies, 'The Sacred Import of the Christian Name'

While lengthy, I thought this quote from Davies, an 18th-century American preacher in the Great Awakening, was deeply insightful. Here is the sort of scriptural call to loving unity which we in the church today seem so unable to articulate. In reading it, I think there are three important things to note:

1. Davies correctly recognizes that there will be disagreements among true believers in Christ, and that this is in fact a good thing. He never calls us to abandon the study of scripture as it relates to so-called 'non-essential' matters, but instead to seek out truth yourself while not using it to break the peace with brothers and sisters in the church. Here is where many in the theological right fall off the horse, as they take matters which do not delineate the love of God and use it to decide their love for people. Rather, we ought to endeavor to extend the embrace of brotherly Christian affection as widely as is the kingdom itself.

2. Davies holds the gospel as that which unites Christians. While not directly addressed as such, Davies clearly holds to an 'essential Christianity' which unites us as believers. Thus, we are united not by throwing out truth, but by clinging to it. It is far too common among many people I visit with for them to forget what it is they're having unity about. Instead, they feel so hardpressed to unite the people of God that they throw God out and end up just uniting a bunch of people. It is not Christian love to ignore differences to such an extent that we all hold hands and merrily skip together down the road to hell.

3. Davies sees us as being united because of the gospel. This is the heart of the matter, and the solution to both the above problems. Why are we to unite in spite of differences? Because if we together love the Lord Jesus Christ, who died to atone for our sins and rose to give us new life, then doctrinal disputes and quibbles over the affects of this are subsumed in relationship with Him. They are still, important, granted, but they are things which we can graciously disagree upon because they are the outworkings of the glorious faith we both share.

At the same time, it corrects the liberal who would abandon the gospel by showing him that its truth, rather than the problem, is the very thing which ought to fix it. Calling for unity without Christ is foolishness; if it isn't His body, why must it not be divided? If it is not His name, why must we uphold its honor? Let us endeavor, and let me endeavor, to hold this foremost in our thoughts.

World Church update

One of my goals with this blog is to develop a greater awareness amongst Christians of what is happening in the church on a worldwide scale, often it's very easy us in the USA to be completely ignorant about what is happening in the church in the rest of the world. But we ignore the international church at our own peril, the days of the church in the States being one of the greatest missionary-sending, church-planting nations are long gone. Today those places are probably Columbia and China. So, check back often for news on various international church happenings, and if you have any missions newsletters or e-mail updates you receive, let me know!

This week's update is from India. For the past three years my local church has been working with several other Berean churches on the 300 in 3 project with a goal of training 300 Indian church planting pastors in three years. As of early December my church, which was responsible to train 100 of the pastors, had trained 97. However several of those pastors-most of whom are converted Hindus- have already been threatened by Hindu fundamentalists and told to stop preaching. There are also many amazing stories that are causes for great joy. One preacher went into a shop and the owner asked him what he did, the preacher told him and the owner was very antagonistic but the preacher kindly tried to explain why he does what he does and even gave the owner the address where their church meets (currently the pastor's home). The next day the owner, feeling badly for how he had treated the man went to his house to apologize and he ended up becoming a Christian. He and his entire family are now hosting a small group Bible study in their home.

It is a beautiful thing to see how the gospel continues to have the same power it's always had and continues to be effective in India, the very country in which the modern-missions movement began 200 years ago under William Carey.

Please remember the Indian church in your prayers, the following story from Voice of the Martyrs should show why they are in such need of our prayers.

" On December 23, 2006, Hindu extremists burned down a church and disrupted services in several Indian states. They continued their harassment and arrested carol singers on Christmas Eve. In a separate event, a pastor and 10 other missionaries were beaten and arrested for singing carols. They were later released. In another incident, Hindu extremist group, Bajrang Dal, attacked 20 Christians gathered in a church. "They stormed into the church, beat some of the Christians and destroyed hymnbooks and Bibles. Five Christians were injured in the attack, three suffered hearing loss due to a blow to the head, and a Bible a school student's hand was fractured," Compass Direct News reported. Pray God heals those that were injured and protects them, giving them boldness to continue their Christian walk. Acts 4:29, 30 "

Also, a week and a half ago the Pyromaniacs posted a jarring blog that reminds all of us that for many the cost of following Jesus is much greater than it is here in the USA.

Are we the walking dead?

Excellent post today by Jason Clark. Clark is one of the leaders in the emerging movement in the United Kingdom and in the linked blog is basically challenging Christians to rethink how we view the Church, the world, and the people God has placed around us.

"Last breath before the candle flickers out/I will speak the name of Jesus"

"There is one grace you cannot counterfeit... the grace of perseverance."
-Gardiner Spring

I just began reading Iain Murray's Revival and Revivalism, which I've been meaning to pick up for years. This quote at the beginning already struck me. It seems like in the modern church we tend to take a very short view of ministry. We want to see and judge peoples' fruit tomorrow, or at least in our yearly church reports. However, truly Spirit-filled ministry is tested not next week or next month, not in how many people pray a prayer or do a bible study. Christian ministry is aimed at nourishing a person for the whole of his or her life, at teaching them true repentance and at addressing the deep issues of sin in their hearts so that they might be brought to Christ-likeness. This process takes years, and in truth even after those years the test of whether Christ is working in a person is only seen in their perseverance. "Behold, we consider those blessed who remain steadfast." (James 5:11) Let our aim not be winning souls for tomorrow, but for eternity.

Resisting Idolatry like Jesus

Just finished listening to a sermon by Mark Driscoll on idolatry. Driscoll said we all worship something because it's what we're created to do. Therefore, the root of any discontent or unhappiness in our life is in the worship of something other than God. The path to happiness in God and personal holiness is therefore not white-knuckle will power but rather the severing of our worship of whatever our idol is. He suggested several questions to ask yourself to discover what your idols are:

• What am I most afraid of?
• What do I long for most passionately?
• Where do I run for comfort?
• What do I complain about most?
• What angers me most?
• What makes me happiest?
• How do I explain myself to other people?
  
• What has caused me to be angry with God?
• What do I brag about?
• What do I want to have more than anything else?
• Who do I sacrifice the most for in my life?
• If I could change one thing in my life, what would that be?
• Whose approval am I seeking?
• What do I want to control/master?
• What comfort do I treasure most?